(June 30, 2023) “I climbed Everest because I wanted to prove girls could do anything.” This is what Poorana Malavath said after scaling Mt Everest at the age of 13. She scripted history by becoming the youngest Indian and youngest girl in the world to scale the world’s highest peak. But that was just the beginning for this 23-year-old tribal girl who went onto complete the Seven Summit Challenge in 2022, by summiting all seven peaks in all seven continents.
Poorna Malavath
How the tribal girl fell in love with mountaineering
It was in Palaka, a village in Nizamabad district of Telangana, that Poorna was born to parents who were farmhands. Being a tribal girl, Poorna did not have access to resources needed for mountaineering nor did she have the inclination to become a mountaineer, because it was something she couldn’t even fathom in her wildest dreams. In her community, educating girls was a rare phenomenon, and even if some did attend school, they were pulled out as soon as they hit puberty as it was time to get them married. But her father Devidas Malavath wanted to educate his daughter and give her wings to fly, so he encouraged her to join Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) when she was ten. “Stepping out of my village gave me opportunities I didn’t even dream of. In my new school, I felt like a newborn butterfly emerging from her cocoon,” she said in an interview.
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It was at TSWREIS that she was selected for a mountain climbing workshop, something that was set to change her life forever. Seeing her athletic prowess, thanks to her years of playing kabbadi and volleyball, her teachers and mentor Dr RS Praveen Kumar, the retired IPS officer who was keen to give TSWREIS schools a makeover, saw her potential. He encouraged her to climb the Bhongir rock in Telangana. Fear took over her for the very first time as she saw herself making the climb uphill, but once she made it to the top, she had also conquered her fear. It was exhilarating, and that very moment she knew she had found her calling, and started training with Shekhar Babu, a professional mountaineer.
Youngest girl in the world to scale Mt Everest
Three years into her training, she scaled the Mount Everest at the age of 13, thus becoming the youngest Indian and youngest girl in the world to scale the summit. “The snow-clad Himalayan ranges were breathtaking. I could see all the camps as well!,” she told The Hindu. Though achieving the feat was thrilling for the then teenager, she had to face many difficulties. “The winds were pretty harsh and it was also bitingly cold. Moreover, during the expedition, we had to eat packaged food which was not easy to digest. I was as frequently throwing up whenever I was given food in those sealed bags as the smell was unbearable for me,” she told a daily. But what disturbed her the most was seeing dead bodies of the climbers on her way to the summit. It was the second time in her life that she felt fear, understanding the fragility of life. But everything was worth it as she raised Indian flag on the world’s highest peak. “The satisfaction of all the hard work I had done along with quietness and peace filled me.”
However, scripting history wasn’t easy as she underwent eight months of training, wherein she was sent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling. It was here that she climbed Mount Renock which is 17,000 feet. She then trained in Ladakh where she was accustomed to sub-zero temperature of -35 degree Celsius. Seeing her endurance levels, she was sent on the Everest expedition.
Seven summit challenge
After climbing Mt Everest, she was keen to complete the Seven Summit Challenge. This led her to climbing Mt Elbrus in Russia which stands at an elevation of 5,642 m and later Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania which is 5,895 m in height. In 2019, she climbed Mt Vinson in Antarctica. And by June 2022, she had scaled all seven peaks in all the seven continents with Mt Denali (the highest mountain in North America) being the last peak that she summited. “It was a very different experience for me because every mountain has its own difficulties. The journey to Mt. Denali was more difficult than Mt. Everest. I have to train for two-three months. I had to work very hard. I had to work on my diet and exercise regularly. Climbing Mt Denali was very tough but my passion took me on the top,” she said.
Poorna’s incredible achievement of .conquering all seven peaks across seven continents stands as a testament to her unwavering determination and indomitable willpower. Her journey exemplifies the belief that nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it. Her story serves as a reminder that with perseverance and a strong will, we can overcome any obstacle and reach the summit of our aspirations. “Taking the first step is the best way to overcome your fear and march towards your goal.”
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